Modelling Exposure by Spraying Activities-Status and Future Needs.

Spray applications enable a uniform distribution of substances on surfaces in a highly efficient manner, and thus can be found at workplaces as well as in consumer environments. A systematic literature review on modelling exposure by spraying activities has been conducted and status and further needs have been discussed with experts at a symposium. This review summarizes the current knowledge about models and their level of conservatism and accuracy. We found that extraction of relevant information on model performance for spraying from published studies and interpretation of model accuracy proved to be challenging, as the studies often accounted for only a small part of potential spray applications. To achieve a better quality of exposure estimates in the future, more systematic evaluation of models is beneficial, taking into account a representative variety of spray equipment and application patterns. Model predictions could be improved by more accurate consideration of variation in spray equipment. Inter-model harmonization with regard to spray input parameters and appropriate grouping of spray exposure situations is recommended. From a user perspective, a platform or database with information on different spraying equipment and techniques and agreed standard parameters for specific spraying scenarios from different regulations may be useful.

Estimation of dietary intake of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) by consumption of food in the German population.

In the study presented here, we evaluated the exposure of the German population aged 14-80 years to bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) from consumption of food by means of deterministic and probabilistic estimations. The study was performed on the basis of an extensive review of literature from around the world reporting measured data on DEHP in food, as well as official German food control data. Only data from individual measurements were considered and used for fitting of distributions. A wide range of concentrations in non-representative samples are reported in the literature. On the basis of the available DEHP concentration data, 37 food categories were characterized which covered all major food classes. Food consumption data were taken from the diet history interviews of the German National Nutrition Survey II (Nationale Verzehrsstudie II) which was performed in 2005/2006 in a representative study population of 15,371 and is the most recent data source of this kind in Germany. Average DEHP intake was estimated deterministically using data on measured concentrations in food (medians and means) and food consumption (means). A total dietary exposure to DEHP of 3.6 (median based) and 9.3µg/kg of BW per day (based on mean values) was estimated deterministically. In addition, distributions of both concentrations and consumption figures were fitted using the @RISK best fit tool for further probabilistic estimations. This approach resulted in estimates within the same range: the estimated median DEHP intake in the whole population (both non-consumers and consumers of the foods considered) was 10.2, the arithmetic mean 14.0 and the 95th percentile 28.6µg/kg of BW per day. The respective estimates for consumers only were 12.4, 18.7 and 36.5µg/kg of BW per day. These results demonstrate that the probabilistic approach is able to estimate broader ranges of exposure even when using data representing an average intake. Moreover, it reflects the uncertainties of the estimation due to insufficient analytical data on concentrations of DEHP in food.